Trinity Church
New York
Trinity Church is the dark stone church at the end of Wall Street, on Broadway. From 1846 to 1890 its steeple made it the tallest building in New York.
Three churches on the same spot
The church community was founded in 1697, with permission from King William III of England. The first church opened in 1698 and faced the Hudson River. The second opened in 1790, and President Washington attended its opening celebration.
In 1839 the roof of the second church gave way under the weight of snow. The English architect Richard Upjohn decided to rebuild it completely.
The third church
Today's church was consecrated in 1846. Upjohn designed it like an English country church of the 1300s, with spires and slender towers. It is one of the first and finest examples of this style in the United States.
What to see from outside
Look up at the tip of the steeple. Also notice the turrets on the tower's corners and the long, narrow windows reaching toward the sky. For more than twenty years no building in the United States was taller.
Around the church, the skyscrapers are much taller. Yet the dark tower can still be seen from far away, at the end of Wall Street.
